Machine-brake.



J. W. HASBURG.

1 MACHINE BRAKE.

APPLICATION FILED DE(Z.22, 1914.

1,173,799. Patented Feb. 29, 1916.

2 SHEETSSHEET I.

4 7206 am/fwd? THE COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH 60., WASHINGTON, D. c.

J. W. HASBURG.

MACHINE BRAKE.

APPLICATION min 050.22, 1914.

1,173,799. Patented Feb.29,1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- 5 5 24 I I: 2 o. i 23 4 fi 20 6 r" d 7/ l 7,55? 27 22 ii $32121} 29 I {/H \\\Y\ vi J6 mmnj illllllL THE COLUMBIA FLANOURAPH $0.. WASHINGTON. D. c.

JOHN W. HASBURG, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

MACHINE-BRAKE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented. Feb. 29, 1916.

Application filed December 22, 1914. Serial No. 878,502.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JOHN W. HASBURG, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machine-Brakes, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to means for supporting, releasing and dropping relatively heavy bodies, such as large bombs, and the like, from air crafts.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide means whereby large, heavy bombs may be dropped from dirigible lighterthanair ships, or other crafts, without danger to the craft or inconvenience to the passengers.

Heretofore it has been inexpedient to drop relatively heavy objects, in a body, from air crafts of this character owing to the undesirable and dangerous results produced by such operation.

The craft or ship being suddenly relieved of a large portion of its load, as when a heavy bomb is dropped therefrom, will immediately ascend to a higher altitude; the rapidity and violence of the upward movement of the ship will be substantially in proportion to the weight of the object dropped and the suddenness with which it leaves the ship. If a ship be gradually relieved of a relatively large part of its load, as when a large body of sand or other'comminuted material is spilled in small streams from a bag or other container, no harmful results will follow, as in such case the upward movenient of the craft, to compensate for lost weight, is gradual and without the suddenness of an impact. 7

The salient object of my invention is to provide means whereby a relatively heavy object, in a body, may be dropped from an air ship in such manner as to gradually relieve the ship of its load thereby giving it time to adjust itself to higher altitudes be fore the object is entirely cut loose from its buoyant support. y

Another, but more specific object of my invention, is to provide means whereby the falling body will so affect the means by which it is supported as to regulate the speed and time of its descent within a prescribed limit of its downward movement, or the equivalent upward movement of a buoyant craft from whichit may be suspended, so

that by the time it is actually disconnected from the craft said craft has risen to a point in altitude substantially sufficient to compensate for the weight lost by the falling body and such movement of the craft has been so gradual as to avoid disastrous results.

Other and further objects of my invention will become readily apparent, to persons skilled in the art, from a consideration of the following description when taken in conjunction with the drawings wherein Figure 1 is a side elevation of an apparatus for accomplishing the results described. Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a transverse section taken on line 33 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a transverse section taken on line 4l1 of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a modified brake mechanism.

In all the views the same reference characters are employed to indicate similar parts.

In the embodiment which I have illustrated for'the purpose of carrying my in vention into effect 10 is a drum or winch on its shaft 13 freely rotatable in bearings 11 of the standards 12. Secured to one end of the shaft 13, by a proper means, is a pulley or wheel 14: having a flat, smooth face and forming one member of a friction brake. A brake band 15, of more or less resilient material such as steel, is provided with brake shoes 16 which bear against the face of the pulley 1 1-. The brake band 15 is provided with parallel straight radial ends 17 and 18. A screw 19 with relatively fine threads or slight pitch, passes through the extended ends 17 and 18 and is provided with a head 20, which bears against a movable piece 21,

that lies against the end 17. The screw 19 carries on its outer end a hand wheel 23, by which the screw 19 may be rotated, by contact with the hand lever 22 projecting from one side thereof. The screw 19 is positively locked or held against rotation by a pin 2a which passes through the wheel 23 into the piece 21. A housing 25 is provided for a worm wheel nut 26, and is secured to the radial end portion 18 of the brake band, and moves therewith. A worm 27, may be part of a shaft 28, and meshes with the worm wheel 26. On the other end of the shaft 28 is a band or belt wheel 29 that is connected to a similar band wheel 30 by a band or belt 31-. The worm wheel nut 26 has screw threaded connection with the screw shaft 19, and when rotated in a given direction, with reference to the shaft 19, as when the latter is held in stationary position by means of the pin 24 entering the part 21, it forces the end members 17 and 18 closer together,

thereby tightening the'brake band 15 upon the brake pulley 14 and preventing the pulley 14 and the drum 10 from rotating.

'A heavy body, such as a bomb, which is conventionally represented by character 32, is connected to a rope, or cable 33, which is wound about the drum 10, as at 34, and is provided with a loop at its end 35, which overlies apin 36, so that when the entire amount of cable has been unwound from the drum the loop will slip from the pin 36 and permit the bomb 32 to fall free from the drum carrying with it its connected cable.

To prevent the brake band and connected members rotating around the axis of the drum I provide on the cross bar 12*, two spaced apart obstructions, such as pins 12 and 12 and to the brake band 15 I attach a pin 15= and permit it to play between the relatively fixed pins 12, 12. This arrange.

ment will not interfere in the least with the expansion or contraction of the brake band.

. In the modified form of brake band, shown in Fig. 5, which is the preferred form, the brake shoes 16 have guiding edges on each side to prevent them from becoming laterally displaced. Each shoe is secured to a threaded bolt 16 which passes freely through the band'15; and is held by nuts 16 16 An open coil helical spring 16 surrounds the bolt 16? and tends to press the shoe into contact with the pulley 14. The bolt 16 and nuts 16 controlthe extent to which the spring 16 will expand when released. As illustrated the upper positioned spring will permit the shoe to leave contact with the pulley 14 before the lower spring will, when the brake band 15 is being expanded and by thus adjusting all of the springs, one brake shoe after the other may be withdrawn from contact with the brake pulley as when the terminals 17 and 18 are being separated and thereby the friction to the movement of pulley 14 may be gradually removed.

The operation of the device is as follows: Normally the rope or cable 33 is-wound about the drum 10, as at .34, and the bomb 32 is thereby held in its most elevated position ready to be dropped and without danger of contact, at which time the pin 24, for safety, is placed through the hand wheel 23 and into the fixed part 21 to positively prevent accidental rotation of the worm shaft 19, thereby to loosen the frictional engaging. brake band around the pulley 14. Now when it is desired to drop the bomb the pin 24 is taken from the hand wheel 23 and the reference I wheel 23 is initially rotated by the operator,

in a direction to loosen the nut 26 to permit partial separation of the members 17 and 18, which members when forced toward each other serve to clamp the brake shoes of the band 1'5 into contact with the pulley 14. An

open helical spring 37 surrounds the shaft sult of the decreased friction and under the influence of the weight of the bomb 32. At this time the operator will lock the hand wheel. Then, inasmuch as the drum 10 is connected by means of the pulleys29 and 30' and the'belt 31 with the worm shaft 27,

which rotates the worm wheel 26, thefcon tinued rotation of the drum by the weight of the bomb will have the effect of further but slowly moving the worm wheel 26 thereby causing greater separation of the parts 17 and 18, and corresponding decrease of the friction upon the wheel 14, bythe gradual and successive withdrawal of the brake shoes from contact therewith. The reduction of motion, between the drum shaft 13 and the screw shaft 19 is considerable, so that the worm nut 26, which surrounds the screw shaft 19, will be moved slowly, with reference to the movement of the shaft 13, and

the effect will be to very gradually decrease the friction resistance imposed 7 upon the drum by engagement of the surrounding brake shoes, upon the outer surface ofthe.

brake wheel 14. Just about the time that the rotating pulley 14 is practically free from the brake shoes 16, the loop 35, on the cable 33 will become detached from thesecuring pin 36, on the drum 10, and the bomb 32 with its attached cable willv be dropped free from the air craft, The time required to drop the bomb, by this means,-

and the gradual increase of speed of the falling body while attached to the craft will have the same effect as gradually decreasing the weight of said body sufliciently to permit the air craft to llfted by the gas within the buoyant envelop, in compensation for the weight lostby the dropped bomb and so gradually and with such ease as to be almost imperceptible by the passengers. 7

While I have herein shown and described a single embodiment for carrying my invention into effect -it is manifest that other equivalent-means may be employed for the purpose and that changes in the construction and disposition of parts are permissible within the scope of the appended claim.

Having described my invention what I gradually rise-or be claim as new with a View and desire to secure by Letters Patent of United States is In a device of the character described the combination of a rotatable drum, a brake band surrounding the same, substantially parallel brake-clamping arms projecting from the ends of said band, a stem passing through openings in the projecting arms, a hand Wheel on one side of said stem bearing against the outer face of one of the arms, a nut in screw-threaded engagement With said stem positioned to bear against the outer face of the other arm, means connected With the drum for rotating the nut, and

means for locking the stem to prevent its 15 JOHN W. HASBURG.

Witnesses:

MARY F. ALLEN, Fomin BAIN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing 'the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. O. 

